State-run insurer shed almost 6,900 residential policies during year

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation now has a total of 105,000 policies, including commercial policies. That's down from a high of 174,000 in 2008.

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation transferred almost 6,900 residential policies to four private insurers over the since last December, bringing the number of homeowners insured by the state-run company below 100,000. Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon credited improvements in the property insurance market with the decrease in policies written by Citizens, which is designed only to serve as an insurer of last resort.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon

Citizens is required by law to charge more than private sector insurers and officials have made a strong effort to transfer policies to those other insurers through a program known as "depopulation."

"With this Depopulation Program, homeowners now have a broader range of options for insurance and many policyholders have previously lowered their premiums by hundreds or even thousands of dollars after having their policy moved out of Citizens to a private insurance company through this process," Donelon said in a statement.

Including commercial policies, Citizens now has about 105,000 total policies. That's down from an all-time high of 174,000 in 2008.

Four companies made offers to to write policies for residents now covered by Citizens during this round of depopulation. Access home Insurance Company, Centauri Specialty Insurance Company, Lighthouse Property Insurance Corporation and Maison Insurance Company looked at about 29,240 policies and received authorization to take 6,877 of those.

esidents whose policies were authorized to be moved to the private market have 60 days from December 1 to decide whether they wish to remain with Citizens.

Typically, only about 2 percent of those whose policies were moved chose to stay with Citizens, according to the insurance department.

"The increased competition we are currently experiencing along the coastal parishes is a win-win scenario for all Louisiana property insurance policyholders," Donelon said.